2009 World Stamp Exhibition

First the actual Olympics and now the “Olympics of stamp collecting” is gracing the land of China. Beginning on April 10th and running through April 16, 2009, the 2009 World Stamp Exhibition is the place to be to see top philatelic issues from around the globe.

Over 110 countries and regions have brought together more than 3,200 valuable framed stamp collections to be viewed by the public. The entries will also be appraised by world class leaders of philately. More than sixty international stamp experts will review the entries and eight medals will be awarded before the end of the Exhibition. An unprecedented amount of attendees will have their chance on the bidding of rare stamps at the auction as well.

Of the 3,200 framed entries, 80 frames of world renowned stamps are on display. The British royal family has even sent their prized Penny Black which was issued in 1840. It was the first adhesive postage stamp to ever be issued in the world. Also on public display for the first time are stamps collected by the China National Post and Postage Stamp Museum.

There are 24 special Peony stamps issued from various nations to commemorate the Luoyang Peony Festival. China has released 60 commemorative envelopes especially designed for the Exhibition.

The World Stamp Exhibition travels to a new location each year. Expect to see the 2010 World Stamp Exhibition in South Africa.

Stamps Worth Millions Taken Away

Jim Ford, a stamp collector from Scotland, is mourning the loss of his precious stamp collection. The collection was originally started by his grandfather when he was a boy. The first stamps obtained were from letters from family members and friends who were scattered around the world. After his grandfather’s death, his uncle inherited the extensive stamp collection. Being confined to a wheelchair because of Multiple Sclerosis afforded him quite a bit of time to add to the already large collection of stamps from around the globe.

Ford, who collected stamps as a child, eventually inherited the collection. After an accident in 2001 left him disabled, he put his focus on expanding his collection. The collection feathered many valuable postage stamps. According to Mr. Ford, the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC wanted to display the 36 “Washington Pinks” that were in his collection because they covered the Civil War years. The stamps were on correspondence between a soldier in battle and his fiancée. The Smithsonian had tentatively valued these particular stamps at around £18 million.

After a gas leak at Ford's home, the collection was packed up and put outside on the porch for a few hours during the cleanup. Council workers were arranged to pick up the old damaged furniture from the back of the home, but took the postage stamps instead. The stamps are now lost forever, despite his calls to have his collection returned.

Included in the mistaken stamp pickup were 840 Penny Blacks which are estimated to be valued between £1900 and £5000 each, the 36 Washington Pinks and dozens of Penny Blues. According to Ford, there was also a strip of three very rare stamps which were valued at £155,000. The good news is that he still has 11,000 stamps left in his collection, but none as valuable as the ones that were taken that terrible day.

Getting A Piece Of The Rock

In America, when I think of “Gibraltar”, I remember the Prudential Insurance Company’s advertising theme slogan that was sung “Get a piece of the rock!” In 2002, the country Gibraltar offered just that, a piece of the actual rock. These unusual postage stamps join the growing list as one of the most interesting postage stamps of all time.

These stamps allowed you to own a piece of this amazing natural landmark by purchasing postage stamps. There were four stamps in the set. Each postage stamp is embellished with finely pulverized pieces of limestone rock dust that was bored out of the center of the Rock of Gibraltar. They were the first postage stamps ever to be produced with actual rock.

Gibraltar is rich in history dating from 711 A.D. There are traces of cave occupation which date back 40,000 years. Gibraltar is a self governing British colony that is only 2 ¼ square miles. It sits on the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates the Atlantic from the Mediterranean, and Europe from Africa. It has its own currency, radio station, newspaper, television station, naval and military troops, airport, and postage stamps.

Gibraltar is well known for their beautiful stamp sets. If you are interested in fantastic stamps issued from Gibraltar, come see what Stamp Center has to offer.

Prince Rainier’s Stamp Collection Part II Of II

Continuing from Wednesday…

Prince Rainier III is quoted as saying that stamps are “The best ambassador of a country.” Prince Rainier continued to add stamps and covers to the Royal collection throughout his years of reign. Each stamp in the collection is in chronological order and specifically classified. There are three main time periods that Prince Rainier’s collection maintains.

Les Precurseurs, otherwise known as the “Forerunners”, contains stamps that date back to 1641. This section also contains French and Sardinian postmarks used in Monaco and Menton. Those postmarks were issued prior to 1885 when Monaco began issuing their own postage stamps.

“Les Modernes”, otherwise known as the “Modern” section, dates back to 1921 and up through current day issues. Prince Rainier III and Prince Louis II postage stamps are stored in this set as well as many other commemorative stamps.

“Les Classiques”, otherwise known as the “Classics” feature issues issues of Monegasque stamps from 1885 to 1921 covering the reigns of Charles III and Albert I.

Many of the postage stamps that are in Prince Rainier’s collection can also be found at The Museum of Coins and Stamps in Monaco. The Prince founded the museum to allow the public to become more acquainted with philately. According to the Monaco’s official website, “The Rare Stamp Room is the high point of the Museum where priceless items are on display, including a « strip of 5 Charles III 5 franc stamps » and an envelope sent from Menton on 12th April 1851 with one of the first issues of the Sardinian stamp that was then used in the Principality.

Prince Rainier died on April 6, 2005. Stamp Center has the Prince Rainier III souvenir sheet as well as other beautiful postage stamps issued from Monaco in stock and ready to ship to you.

UEFA Europass 2008 Postage Stamp

Football is one of the most popular sports in many countries around the world. We American’s refer to it as soccer though.

In 2008, the Austrian Post Office issued an amazing stamp to promote the UEFA EURO 2008 soccer tournament. UEFA EURO 2008 was held in June of 2008 and was the largest sporting event ever held in Austria. There was quite a bit of hype about this particular stamp as it was seemingly a one-of-a-kind concept.

At the time, experts in the philatelic world considered the stamp to be a fantastic creation. The stamp featured the normally 69 cm ball shrunk down to a mere 36 mm. The amazing thing about the stamp was that it was created by using the original material as the UEFA European Championship soccer ball. The synthetic mix with polyurethane was interesting to say the least. The stamp promoted Adidas as well.

Collectors and previous non-collectors clamored to pick up one of the 490,000 stamps that were released. At the time, the head of philately at the Austrian Post Office said “Altogether, the Europass stamp is our most sophisticated stamp in terms of typography and fabric.”

There were many attempts to perfect the stamp prior to releasing it to the public. The stamps had to endure special printing methods because it was made of plastic and not paper. The stamp production cost almost 20 times the price of normal postage stamps.

Sadly, there was one major problem that arose with these postage stamps…they would not stick to envelopes! As a result, large numbers of the stamps had to be withdrawn and replaced.

Could There Really Be Another One In Existence? Part II Of II

Continuing on from the post on Friday…

Cong fought in many battles in Laos and Cambodia and served in the military until 1973. During his battles, Cong was comforted by the stamps he was collecting from the battle field. He carried his collection in a nylon bag in his pocket. He was known for picking up stray envelopes from fallen soldiers who were both friend and foe. His commanders even gave him permission to take stamps from the enemy’s documents.

After Cong returned home in 1975, he was saddened to find that his remaining family members had lost his original stamp collection which had contained stamps from 147 countries. Being an avid collector, he began his collection again from the stamps he had collected in battle.

Cong currently has thousands of stamps in his collection. Most are Vietnamese stamps and many were issued during the war. In Cong’s current collection there is one orange stamp with an image of Queen Victoria and a price of 1 penny. Along the side it says “Post Office” and along the other it says “Mauritius”. Cong says that he was given the stamp in 1951 or 1952 while on business in Cambodia. He believes that this stamp is another very rare example of one of the first postage stamps ever produced. Experts have yet to confirm or deny his claim, but if it is the stamp he claims, it surely is the find of a lifetime.

Could There Really Be Another One In Existence? Part I Of II

Any serious stamp collector dreams of the day when they find a stamp that is so rare that people will beg to just be in the same room that it is in. Sometimes these treasures become family heirlooms and other times you will find them on the auction circuit bringing in a great deal of money.

One such collector in Vietnam may be the second proud owner of the Queen Victoria Orange that was published in Mauritius in 1847. Until today, it was believed that there was only one stamp of its kind in the entire world. That particular stamp was last sold at auction in 1993 for an amazing $1,072,260.

The collector, Le Phi Cong began collecting stamps with his school chums when he was in third grade. He is now 82 years old. Cong was a dedicated soldier until he returned home in 1945 after Vietnam fell to the French. In 1946, Cong soon found himself joining the resistance war and headed back into battle. Participating in war, did not squash his desire to continue to collect postage stamps.

Please check back on Monday for the conclusion to this story.

The Blue Mauritius On Display

Stamp collectors from around the world experienced a special treat at the WIPA Vienna International Postage Stamp Exhibition 2008 that was held in Austria last week. The legendary Blue Mauritius was on display for the world to see.

It arrived in grand style at the Schwechat Airport with security agents surrounding it. It is one of the most valuable and rarest postage stamps in existence today.

The Blue Mauritius was printed in 1847 and has a face value of two pennies. It was printed on the British Colony of Mauritius, which is an island that is located in the Indian Ocean. The Blue Mauritius is so valuable because it was one of the first stamps authorized by any British colonial government. Initially the stamp had the words “Post Office” printed on the edge of the stamp. Later versions of the stamp had the word “Post Paid” printed on the edge of the stamp.

The stamp has proven to increase in value as the years have gone by. There were initially 500 stamps printed, but there are only a couple known to currently be in existence. The last time this stamp was at auction, it sold for $3,829,500. It remains as the most expensive single Philatelic item that has ever been sold.

Yoda Stamp Sheet Set

I remember seeing little Yoda in that swampy area when the movie was just released. He was a little bit scary to look at. He looked so strange that I thought he must have been a bad guy. The bad guy stigma was removed when I realized he was a Jedi warrior after all. To my delight, I found him quite a lovable character. Apparently I was not the only one to fall in love with this green guy with strange hair!

Once the United States Postal Service announced the Star Wars collectible stamps release information (March 28, 2007), they decided to have some fun with the general public. It was decided that people could vote on the character that they liked best of all. That character would then be memorialized with its very own commemorative stamp.

The votes were taken online over a two month period. The tiny Jedi Master Yoda won the contest. His individual stamp was released on October 25, 2007. The artist who designed the stamp was Drew Struzan. He was the poster artist for the Star Wars series as well as the entire Star Wars saga stamp set.

Surely these are some of the most fun stamps and anyone can own. Word is, that even non-stamp collectors have snatched these bad boys up! If you are interested in buying this Yoda sheet stamp set, visit http://www.stampcenter.com/.

Recalled Legends Of The West Series

The most infamous stamp error in United States history was unveiled in December 1993. The Legends of the West stamps was sure to be an extremely popular issuance, but nobody expected them to be as popular as they became.

One of the stamps in the series honored a celebrated African-American cowboy, Bill Pickett. He was credited with the invention of steer wrestling which is otherwise known as bulldogging.

Stamp artist Mark Hess designed the stamp using a famous photograph that had been published in several magazines. The problem was that the picture was not actually of Bill Pickett, but was instead of his brother Ben Pickett. The Pickett family informed the USPS that they had made a serious error in January 1994, after the stamps were released.

The stunned USPS announced a recall and destruction of all of the stamps. The second problem that arose was that five million stamps had already been shipped out to hundreds of post offices around the United States.

Once the error had become national news, the USPS discovered that there were 183 panes of the incorrect stamps that had already been sold to the public. In an attempt to off-set the price of reprinting the series, the USPS decided to sell, by lottery, 150,000 of the faulty panes.

If you are interested in buying this very collectible recalled sheet of 20 set, visit http://www.stampcenter.com/ for more information. They are even offering, for a limited time, a $25 discount on any of their US Classic stamps.

The Graf Zeppelin Stamp Set

This stamp set pays respect to the first round trip flight of the Graf Zeppelin airmail carrier on May 18, 1930. All mail on the voyage bore the famous “Zeps” stamp which would serve as documentation for eternity of this giant aircraft.

The stamp design shows the giant airship on its journey over the Atlantic Ocean from Europe to America as well as its return flight east into Friedrichshafen, Germany. The Graf Zeppelin was the only known airship to fly completely around the world. The Graf Zeppelin was only taken out of service after the crash of the German airship Hindenburg.

The early years of flight were daring and dangerous. Most of the flights were in unstable planes with very brave pilots. These flight hero’s took a giant leap into the future as they flew their respective birds throughout the sky.

Stamp collectors have been intrigued by both the covers and the stamps since these stamps were issued. The stamps were only available to the public for a mere five weeks and two days, over 70 years ago. They are very scarce and obtaining them would make a true stamp collectors dream come true.

The three stamps featured at http://www.stampcenter.com/ are an amazing find. They are valued at $2,600 but you can purchase them for $1560. You will find the stamps in very nice condition, mint and never hinged. Like all postage stamps, these tell of the wonderful history of our nation’s past. Come and take a peak, you might not be able to resist yourself!

The Inverted Jenny, A Rare Find Part II of II

In continuation from Monday’s post.

W. T. Robey was the lucky collector who happened to find the, not yet discovered 100 panes, of the inverted Jenny stamps. He quickly made his purchase, on his lunch hour, from his local Washington, DC post office. Robey then contacted both journalists and stamp dealers to let them know of his precious find. Soon after his purchase, he sold all 100 stamps for $15,000 to a dealer named Eugene Klein. Klein immediately sold the lot to H. R. Green for $20,000.

Soon the sheet of 100 would be split into block of 8 and several blocks of 4. The remaining stamps would be cut into singles. Once the mistake was made public, stamps collectors worldwide tried to get their hands on these rare stamps.

H. R. Green placed one of these rare stamps in a locket for his wife. This locket was up for auction in May, 2002 from Siegel Auction Galleries Rarity Sale. The locket did not sell that day, but was sold later for an undisclosed amount of money.

In October 2005, four stamps were anonymously purchased for $2,970,000. Later, financier Bill Gross was revealed to be the purchaser. In 2007, a Wall Street investor forked out $825,000 for a mint never hinged stamp. He reports that he lost out on a previous auction when the winner obtained the stamp for $977,000.

Like other valuable stamps, there have been counterfeits produced, and sometimes even used. The inverted Jenny is likely the most famous stamp making error in American history. It is one of the most sought after stamps in all philately. People have asked the question over the years as to why the postal clerk sold the stamps to Robey in the first place. The fact is, it was 1918, and most people had not ever seen an airplane at that point to even know that it was actually upside down.

It would be fun to know where all of these rare stamps have landed, but it would be even more fun to actually own one of these stamps!

The Inverted Jenny, A Rare Find Part I of II

If you ever happen upon one, hang on to it for dear life, you are already rich! This stamp is one of the rarest and most desired stamps in United States history.

It was produced on May 15, 1918. The stamps controversial value at the time was a whopping 24 cents. The price of using the stamp was enormous compared to the going rate of 3 cents for a first class stamp. In the 1910’s, the USPS had been experimenting with flying mail from New York, Washington, DC and Philadelphia. This stamp was produced just for this “air service”.

Two million of the patriotic “Curtiss Jenny” stamps were produced in red, white a blue. The stamp depicts the JN-4 airplane (courtesy of the US Army Air Corp.) that was used to shuttle the mail from place to place. Production was fast and furious. Engraving began on May 4th and stamp printing on May 10th. These stamps were printed in sheets of 100, unlike previous stamps that were printed in 400 and then cut into 100 panes. The stamps had to be fed through the printing press two times because of the colors. The inverted Jenny was accidentally printed with the airplane upside down.

Although several misprint sheets were discovered and immediately destroyed, one soon to be valuable sheet of 100, slipped through the cracks. To date, only one sheet of 100 has ever been discovered. It is quite possible that other sheets were circulated and then caught by inspectors at other postal facilities once the mistake had been made public.

Please check back on Wednesday for the conclusion to this post.

The World's First Postage Stamp On Display

Click into the Tehran Times by clicking our blog post title to see an image of the world's first adhesive post stamp that has just been put on display in Tehran.

This important stamp belongs to the personal collection of Mehran Eshraqi and was purchased at an auction about ten years ago.

The Penny Black, the world’s first official adhesive postage stamp, was issued by the United Kingdom of Great Britain on May 1, 1840. It features a picture of Queen Victoria (1819-1901).

Other items on display are: the first Iranian postage stamp which was issued during the reign of Nasser ad-Din Shah (1831-1896) and stamps depicting the Jangal (Forest) Movement, a movement founded by Mirza Kuchak Khan, an early twentieth century revolutionary.

Mr. Eshraqi has said that he is getting ready to put many of his stamps in his personal collection on sale and the proceeds will be used to benefit orphan children in Rasht.

Do You Have a Phony Amongst You?

You can trust your stamp collection… Can’t you? Actually, if you were to look through your collection right now, the chances of finding a fake are pretty high. These fakes, or weed stamps, have been the bane of many a stamp collector’s existence, and they are continued to be produced, to this day. So, you might want to take your collection to a professioal; you might be in for a big surprise!

There are a couple of possible reasons for the deception. Scam artists make a reproduction of a high-priced stamp to make a grand profit, which does happen often enough; this is referred to as a "philatelic forgery." As well, some forgeries are created to defraud the government or postal administration. These are called postal forgeries, or counterfeit stamps, and tend to show up on envelopes or packages. These can be found, even to this day.

One would wonder, why would someone collect fake stamps? Not always is a counterfeit stamp a bad thing, in a collector’s eyes. Some collect these fake stamps as an interesting addition to their collections, and some actually collect them entirely as an interesting concept for a collection. But, if you aren’t collecting them on purpose, and you hate surprises, then you should probably get your collection looked at. You may just have a fake among your stamps.

Inverted Jenny

There are so many rare stamps in the world. These gems can acquire their value for any number of reasons, be it a limited edition release or an oldie from the antique love letters of one’s grandparents, tucked away in the attic. As with almost anything, including and especially stamps, rarity can often be found in mess-ups. When an edition is flawed or, for whatever reason, must be taken off the market, the value shoots up immensely. Possibly one of the most famous goof-ups in the history of American philately was the Inverted Jenny stamp.

Typical stamps for first-class mail in the 1910s were 3 cents each. Around this time, the United States Post Office was experimenting with a sort of air-mail, and, upon approval, decided to instate a regular service on May 15, 1918, flying between Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City. In turn, they decided to issue a new stamp, specifically for this service. These stamps were worth 24 cents a piece.

In quite a rush, the patriotically-colored red and blue stamps were designed on May 5, depicting a Curtiss Jenny, the biplane which was used to deliver the mail. Only five days later, on May 10, the stamps were being engraved and cut in sheets of 100 and were fed through the printing press twice (because of the two separate colors). This method of printing twice, however, had a history of causing invert errors in stamps of 1869 and 1901. By the laws of nature, of course, the Jenny was no exception to this unfortunate mistake. Three sheets were caught and destroyed during production, and only one other sheet was thought to get away, but many stamp collectors from all over believe that there may be more out there and are constantly on the hunt.

Today, one of these once 24-cent stamps is estimated to be worth US $300,000! If you can manage to get your hands on one of the one-hundred thought to be left circulating the globe, you’ll have captured the Holy Grail of many collectors’ desires.

Stamp Champions: Famous Costly Stamps - Part II

In addition to those we talked about in the last blog, there are other famous stamps that are rare and wonderful. Some of these are:

1855 Treskilling Banco Yellow – Probably the most famous of all stamps. This one was a printing mistake. The stamp was first noticed by a 14-year old kid who was looking at his grandfather’s stamp collection. There is only one known to exist, making it the rarest stamp in the world!

1856 British Guiana One Cent Black on Magenta – Like the Treskilling Yellow, this stamp from the British colony of Guiana is extremely rare. There were so few stamps in Guiana at that time that they were hand-initiated by the post-office employee. The stamp itself is unusual in that it is a rectangle with clipped corners. One of these stamps sold 25 years ago for $935,000!

1867 Z-Grills – These stamps are from the US and have a picture of Benjamin Franklin the first US postmaster on an ornately imprinted “grill” of what looks like “Z’s”. The pattern was to stop people from counterfeiting the stamps, like the fancy filigree printing found on US paper currency. Only two of these stamps are known.

How It All Began: A Very Brief History of Stamp Collecting

Stamp collecting started as a childish pursuit that quickly caught the eye of adults. Britain issued the first postage stamp, the Penny Black, in 1840. It wasn't long before children and teens were collecting the novel colorful bits of paper.

Those children carried their fascination for stamps into their adult years, giving rise to a host of businesses dedicated to helping them pursue their hobby. Founded in 1856, Stanley Gibbons, Ltd. in London, England is the oldest continuously-operated business devoted to selling postage stamps and supplies. The first stamp albums were printed and sold in 1880 as the hobby spread around the world. Collectors began to study postage stamps and publish research papers on their production, design, plate flaws, etc. The study and collection of postage stamps is called philately.

In the 1920s, stamp collecting gained increasing appeal as an investment as the value of early stamps in good condition began to rise. Sales of these stamps for astronomical prices caught the imagination of the public. Recognizing the potential value of collecting stamps and hoping to strike philatelic gold, American collectors in the 1930s started stockpiling mint copies of US stamps. Their dreams of quick profit never materialized and today mint condition stamps from that era are still plentiful and available at near face value.

Though less popular today than in its heyday, stamp collecting draws an estimated 25 million hobbyists in the US alone and more than 200 million collectors worldwide. Millions of dollars worth of stamps and supplies are sold annually. There are 4,000 stamp shows and exhibitions in the US alone every year. Large international exhibits can attract in excess of 100,000 visitors a day.